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HLT temp when not in use

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  • HLT temp when not in use

    Trying to cut down on our electricity bill. We have a 22bbl insulated electric hlt and we brew a couple times a week. We use the hot water to clean fermenters once a week. The rest of the time it's unused. Is it ok to lower the temp or even shut off the power when it's not being used? I'm just worried some weird stuff is gonna grow in the nice warm water if it cools off too much. Any help would be great. Thanks guys.

  • #2
    165+

    You need to maintain long term temperature to prevent any growth in the HLT. We tried cutting power over the weekends and ended up with green water in the kettle on Monday.
    The hotter the better, but we find that 165 is the minimum without issues.

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    • #3
      UV Light

      I would just put a UV light in the top of the tank and you would not have to worry about things growing.

      Brad

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      • #4
        I shut mine off when I'm not using it for a few days and haven't had any problems, it can drop down below 100 over a weekend. I get scale buildup but haven't noticed anything funky yet. I do an Acid cycle on it quarterly.

        I thought this was common practice, but now I'm curious to see what everyone else is doing too.

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        • #5
          We shut ours down over a few days to save on energy costs. Here our boiler is fed by LPG tanks. Never seen any noticeable signs of growth, but have never actually plated it. We do use primarily RO water and there is often a lactic addition, so that may help inhibit some growth if there were to be any organisms.

          My logic is that is you have heated to pasteurization temp, then as long as you have no new introduction of organisms, you shouldn't have any issues. Swan neck worked for him, and we have the same basic principle. Our tank is lidded, so we don't really have any obvious risks.

          As BrewerJake stated, I like to do a quarterly clean, although I usually use an acid/no rinse/alkaline cycle. Since we do not heat our water above 80*C (176*F), and use primarily RO water, we do not see any mineral scaling. Usually this occurs more above 82*C (180*F) in water with a higher calcium content.

          BTW, I don't think a UV light on top will actually help much other than the surface. These are usually put in line because the light can only penetrate so far, as I understand it. If you put inline and cycle your tank, then it would be a good addition, but it is flow rate dependent.

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          • #6
            Insulate that HLT

            I think you'd save more by increasing the insulation on the HLT than by shutting it down. Insulate the top and bottom as well as the sides. If you cut down on heat loss, the thermostat won't have to switch the heat on as much to keep it warm.

            I don't see how there could be much of a saving by switching it off. All you're doing is moving from a situation where you add a little bit of heat every now and then to a situation where you add a lot of heat in one go before you need to brew. Pretty much the same amount of heat has to be added either way, right?

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